Audi driver against good ol’ boys in muscle cars

Published: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 7:10 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 7:10 a.m.

The walls of Eurotechnik reveal its owner’s love for racing. The foyer is filled with trophies, ribbons and plaques from the many races that Joe Crowell has won. Those awards include two National Championship trophies in the 944 Super Cup and 944 Cup series.

None of that, however, can top what the Hendersonville resident has embarked on in the past year. Crowell, 30, was selected to be a contestant on a new Speed Channel television show called “R U Faster Than a Redneck?” which will air at 9 p.m. on Mondays.

Crowell’s episode will be on Speed on March 18.

The premise of the show pits foreign street cars against supercharged muscle cars driven by “rednecks.” Contestants could drive in at least three races per episode, depending on how much they win. There’s a qualifying race and a race against a car that the contestant chooses. If the contestant wins that race, the show’s producers put them up against a car of their choosing. If they win that race, the driver wins $10,000.

The cars weren’t just your average muscle cars that Crowell and others were going up against, he said. They were enhanced, muscle cars worth $100,000 or more.

“They didn’t just want a bunch of rookies going out and smashing up these cars,” he said. That’s how they found Crowell.

Crowell bought Eurotechnik three years ago. The company’s expertise is repair and maintenance of German cars. Crowell graduated from Western Carolina in 2007 with a degree in construction management and business. His dad owns Joe Crowell Construction in Hendersonville.

His plan was to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he did, sort of.

“I grew up with a hammer in this hand and wrench in this hand,” Crowell said with both hands in the air.

While his dad worked in the construction world, he left the sawdust behind when he got home. That’s when he would work on cars. The elder Crowell raced in the late 1970s and in the early 1980s. He finished runner-up for two national championships. He gave it up once he started a family. He took a 15-year hiatus then started to return to racing.

That’s when his oldest son got the racing bug. At age 17, the younger Joe Crowell got behind the wheel of a car. Crowell and his three sons — Joe, Brent and Case — began bonding within the confines of racing. They built a Porche 944 when Crowell was 17 years old, and they were going to split the driving duties in racing.

It turned out that the car moved a little faster with youth behind the wheel, the younger Joe Crowell joked. For his dad, it didn’t matter as much because it was about spending time with his sons.

“My wife (Denise) has always encouraged it because she sees it’s the bond between a father and his sons,” Crowell said. “That’s something we love to do together. It’s been a great father-son activity.”

The racing gene is strong in the Crowell family.

T heyoungerJoeCrowell, however, has made a living out of his greatest passion. The business, behind Fresh Market on Spartanburg Highway, gives Crowell ample opportunity to live his dream.

That dream took a step forward when a call came in last spring with more potential exposure. On the other end was the producer of a new television show inquiring whether or not Joe Crowell knew anyone who raced foreign cars who would be interested in racing on a television show.

The producer said the show would set up “young guys in import cars to race muscle cars,” Crowell said. The producer added that it would be road course racing, not drag racing, which took Crowell’s interest to another level.

“I said, ‘OK, now you’ve got my attention,’” he said.

Crowell was sold on it when the producers divulged the location of the filming. The races would be filmed just down the road at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C. — a track that Crowell was familiar with.

They sent an application and asked Crowell to do a video. In the video, he had to talk a little trash. He sent both back in, but his original video didn’t have enough trash talk in it. Producers asked him to do another video. A week later, he got the call and was asked to be a part of the show. The time frame, however, was still up in the air.

He was excited, but at the same time had just sold the Porsche 968 he was driving, so he began to search for a car. He and his father talked about building a Porsche 944 similar to the ones he races. That idea failed to come to fruition because of the time frame.

Once he realized that shooting was going to start in May, he began looking for a car. His friend Jake Burns, who owns Carolina Autohouse, mentioned that Crowell should take a look at Audis. Burns even found one for sale in Houston that could’ve been the solution.

“The second I saw the thing, I fell in love with it,” Crowell said. The car was a pearl white Audi S4 Avant.

He bought a plane ticket to Houston, looked over the car and bought it. Crowell drove the car 1,000 miles back home. Once he got it home, Crowell did a closer inspection at his garage. He had to repair the suspension, fix the shocks and fix an oil leak. With some minor tuning, the car was ready to go.

A week later, he was pulling into the track at Kershaw and was a little intimidated by the speed of a certain high-end import car that passed him.

“When a Lamborghini passed me going a buck-40 (140 mph), it was a little unnerving,” he said. There was a wide array of cars ready to qualify for the show that included Audis, Porsches and other import cars.

After some early troubles in practice laps, Crowell successfully qualified for the show. Legally, however, he can’t talk about the results until his episode airs.

<p>The walls of Eurotechnik reveal its owner's love for racing. The foyer is filled with trophies, ribbons and plaques from the many races that Joe Crowell has won. Those awards include two National Championship trophies in the 944 Super Cup and 944 Cup series.</p><p>None of that, however, can top what the Hendersonville resident has embarked on in the past year. Crowell, 30, was selected to be a contestant on a new Speed Channel television show called “R U Faster Than a Redneck?” which will air at 9 p.m. on Mondays.</p><p>Crowell's episode will be on Speed on March 18.</p><p>The premise of the show pits foreign street cars against supercharged muscle cars driven by “rednecks.” Contestants could drive in at least three races per episode, depending on how much they win. There's a qualifying race and a race against a car that the contestant chooses. If the contestant wins that race, the show's producers put them up against a car of their choosing. If they win that race, the driver wins $10,000.</p><p>The cars weren't just your average muscle cars that Crowell and others were going up against, he said. They were enhanced, muscle cars worth $100,000 or more. </p><p>“They didn't just want a bunch of rookies going out and smashing up these cars,” he said. That's how they found Crowell. </p><p>Crowell bought Eurotechnik three years ago. The company's expertise is repair and maintenance of German cars. Crowell graduated from Western Carolina in 2007 with a degree in construction management and business. His dad owns Joe Crowell Construction in Hendersonville. </p><p>His plan was to follow in his father's footsteps, and he did, sort of. </p><p>“I grew up with a hammer in this hand and wrench in this hand,” Crowell said with both hands in the air. </p><p>While his dad worked in the construction world, he left the sawdust behind when he got home. That's when he would work on cars. The elder Crowell raced in the late 1970s and in the early 1980s. He finished runner-up for two national championships. He gave it up once he started a family. He took a 15-year hiatus then started to return to racing. </p><p>That's when his oldest son got the racing bug. At age 17, the younger Joe Crowell got behind the wheel of a car. Crowell and his three sons — Joe, Brent and Case — began bonding within the confines of racing. They built a Porche 944 when Crowell was 17 years old, and they were going to split the driving duties in racing. </p><p>It turned out that the car moved a little faster with youth behind the wheel, the younger Joe Crowell joked. For his dad, it didn't matter as much because it was about spending time with his sons. </p><p>“My wife (Denise) has always encouraged it because she sees it's the bond between a father and his sons,” Crowell said. “That's something we love to do together. It's been a great father-son activity.” </p><p>The racing gene is strong in the Crowell family. </p><p>T heyoungerJoeCrowell, however, has made a living out of his greatest passion. The business, behind Fresh Market on Spartanburg Highway, gives Crowell ample opportunity to live his dream. </p><p>That dream took a step forward when a call came in last spring with more potential exposure. On the other end was the producer of a new television show inquiring whether or not Joe Crowell knew anyone who raced foreign cars who would be interested in racing on a television show. </p><p>The producer said the show would set up “young guys in import cars to race muscle cars,” Crowell said. The producer added that it would be road course racing, not drag racing, which took Crowell's interest to another level. </p><p>“I said, 'OK, now you've got my attention,'” he said. </p><p>Crowell was sold on it when the producers divulged the location of the filming. The races would be filmed just down the road at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C. — a track that Crowell was familiar with. </p><p>They sent an application and asked Crowell to do a video. In the video, he had to talk a little trash. He sent both back in, but his original video didn't have enough trash talk in it. Producers asked him to do another video. A week later, he got the call and was asked to be a part of the show. The time frame, however, was still up in the air. </p><p>He was excited, but at the same time had just sold the Porsche 968 he was driving, so he began to search for a car. He and his father talked about building a Porsche 944 similar to the ones he races. That idea failed to come to fruition because of the time frame. </p><p>Once he realized that shooting was going to start in May, he began looking for a car. His friend Jake Burns, who owns Carolina Autohouse, mentioned that Crowell should take a look at Audis. Burns even found one for sale in Houston that could've been the solution. </p><p>“The second I saw the thing, I fell in love with it,” Crowell said. The car was a pearl white Audi S4 Avant. </p><p>He bought a plane ticket to Houston, looked over the car and bought it. Crowell drove the car 1,000 miles back home. Once he got it home, Crowell did a closer inspection at his garage. He had to repair the suspension, fix the shocks and fix an oil leak. With some minor tuning, the car was ready to go. </p><p>A week later, he was pulling into the track at Kershaw and was a little intimidated by the speed of a certain high-end import car that passed him. </p><p>“When a Lamborghini passed me going a buck-40 (140 mph), it was a little unnerving,” he said. There was a wide array of cars ready to qualify for the show that included Audis, Porsches and other import cars. </p><p>After some early troubles in practice laps, Crowell successfully qualified for the show. Legally, however, he can't talk about the results until his episode airs. </p><p>“The competition was extremely, extremely fierce,” he said. “The whole experience was surreal.” </p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-6947881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>